Michigan Ag Connection - Potash, Poultry Jobs Expanding in Ionia, Osceola Counties

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Potash, Poultry Jobs Expanding in Ionia, Osceola Counties
Michigan Ag Connection - 06/26/2017

The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) has awarded state Transportation Economic Development Fund (TEDF) Category A grants totaling $2,612,500 to the Ionia and Osceola county road commissions, resulting in a total of 203 new jobs to those areas.

Michigan Potash Co., LLC, is transitioning the United States critical reserve of potassium fertilizer, also known as potash, from New Mexico to Michigan. Pending any applicable permits, their new facility will use solution mining processes to extract the naturally occurring potash and salt from subsurface mineral deposits in Evart Township. The company will then pack and ship the salt and potash throughout the Midwest, significantly increasing traffic on the existing rural, gravel roads that are currently not designed to all-season standards. A commitment to improve the roads was a significant factor in the company's plans to move forward with establishing the facility at this location. The development investment is estimated to be $648,000,000, which will result in the creation of 153 new jobs.

To accommodate the expected increase in traffic, the Osceola County Road Commission will reconstruct 135th Avenue, Schofield Road, and a portion of 120th Avenue to all-season standards.

"We are humbled and pleased that MDOT has recognized the infrastructural necessity through its support of Michigan Potash. Together, we will bring to Evart Township, a rising tide community, a generational industry that creates jobs, infrastructure, royalties, new gross domestic product, and better schools," said Ted Pagano, corporate executive officer for Michigan Potash Co., LLC. "This is made possible while strengthening Michigan agricultural trade and delivering a strategic and critical fertilizer to our farmers, ensuring that they have a domestic source of potash to affordably grow their crops. The long-term benefits reach beyond rural Michigan to include the entire United States corn belt. It begins with a road, made possible by MDOT and the Osceola County Road Commission."

The total cost of this project is $5,225,000, including $2,412,500 in TEDF Category A funds and $2,812,500 from Michigan Potash Co., LLC.

Herbruck's Poultry Ranch, Inc. is the largest egg producer in Michigan and the 13th-largest in the United States. The company currently owns property where it plans to expand its distribution capabilities of its cage-free juvenile chickens, known as pullets, to various sites in Ionia County.

To accommodate the additional traffic anticipated on the surrounding rural roads, the Ionia County Road Commission will reconstruct Haynor Road to all-season standards from M-21 (Bluewater Highway) north to Rector Road, as well as Rector Road from the Herbruck's facility to Haynor Road. The planned road improvements were a vital factor in Herbruck's decision to retain and expand their facilities in Ionia County. The estimated investment in the new facility is $22,500,000, which will result in 50 new jobs in the next three years.

"Herbruck's Poultry Ranch values public-private partnership and we're pleased to work together with state and local government on a project that will improve our ability to do business, open the door for additional job creation, and improve local roads," said Greg Herbruck, president of Herbruck's Poultry Ranch. "We truly appreciate MDOT, the Ionia County Road Commission, and the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development for partnering with Herbruck's on this important project."

The total cost for the project is $1,141,816, with $200,000 in TEDF Category A funds and $941,816 from Herbruck's Poultry Ranch, Inc., the Ionia County Road Commission, and the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Enacted in 1987 and reauthorized in 1993, the TEDF helps finance highway, road and street projects that are critical to the movement of people and products, and getting workers to their jobs, materials to growers and manufacturers, and finished goods to consumers.

TEDF "Category A" or "Targeted Industries Program" grants provide state funding for public roadway improvements that allow road agencies to respond quickly to the transportation needs of expanding companies and eliminate inadequate roadways as an obstacle to private investment and job creation. Eligible road agencies include MDOT, county road commissions, cities and villages. More information about the program is available online at www.michigan.gov/tedf.

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